Sava Turizem, Slovenia's largest tourism company which owns and runs hotels and resorts at the coast, in the lakeside town of Bled and in spa towns in the northeast, saw its revenue increase by 12% to a record €119.9 million in 2023.

The growth was driven by the continued recovery in the sector, reflected in a 2% increase in nights spent at the accommodation facilities, as well as higher prices, the company said in its annual report.

The company, in 90% state ownership, also saw a considerable increase in costs, with the costs of material going up by 16%, the cost of energy by 103%, of services by 30% and of labour by 10%.

As a result, operating profit dropped by a quarter to €10.89 million, while net profit was slashed by about a third to €8.2 million.

Sava Turizem reduced its debt to €48.4 million at the end of the year from €55.3 million a year earlier. It used about a third of its cash flow for the repayment of outstanding loans.

In the past two years, Sava Turizem spent €18.4 million on investment, over half of that in 2023.

The company had just under 1,140 employees at the end of 2023, two dozen fewer than a year earlier.

Sava Turizem accounts for the bulk of business of Sava Group, which likewise reported 12% higher net sales revenue, at €119.8 million. Net profit was cut by two-thirds to €2 million as the core company Sava incurred a net loss of €5.9 million.

The group continued to reduce its debt last year, from €106.4 million at the end of 2022 to €99.5 million at the end of 2023, of which €49.3 million was financial debt. Net financial debt-to-EBITDA ratio was reduced to 2.2.

The state remains the sole creditor of Sava Turizem through Slovenian Sovereign Holding and the Pension Fund Manager.